BRETTON WOODS – The New Hampshire Hospital Association (NHHA) and Foundation for Healthy Communities (FHC) recently honored local leaders in healthcare during their Annual Meeting at the Omni Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods. Every year at the Annual Meeting, the Association and Foundation honor healthcare leaders, executives, and partners from across the state who have made significant contributions to their hospital or the healthcare field.

John Broderick, former Chief Justice and current Senior Director of Public Affairs at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, was presented with the James A. Hamilton Founder’s Award, the New Hampshire Hospital Association’s highest honor for outstanding service to health care on behalf of the people of New Hampshire. Broderick was recognized for being a tremendous advocate for those suffering with mental illness, taking a very personal, and very public, experience with mental illness and selflessly using it as the catalyst to create local, regional and national change.

Alex Walker, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer at Catholic Medical Center, received the Leslie A. Smith President’s Award, bestowed upon an individual who has made an exceptional contribution to the New Hampshire Hospital Association, and in recognition of their dedicated service to the affairs, management and growth of the Association and its affiliates. Walker was honored for his dedication and efforts in moving the Association’s advocacy agenda forward on behalf of its hospital members and the patients they serve, successfully leading the efforts of New Hampshire hospitals through several significant initiatives.

Lawrence Hoepp, MD, Elliot Health System, was the recipient of the Medical Staff Award for outstanding service to hospital and community, an honor bestowed upon a medical staff member from an NHHA member institution whose professional performance has strengthened the cooperation between the hospital and the medical staff, and who brings credit to the institution and the community. Revered by his friends and colleagues for his devotion to quality patient care, Dr. Hoepp was nominated for dedication to his patients, his extraordinary skill as a surgeon and his commitment to his fellow physicians, nurses and staff.

Roger Hamel, Chair, Board of Trustees, Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, was recognized for his exemplary performance in hospital governance with the Outstanding Trustee of the Year Award. Hamel was recognized for his visionary sense, commitment and dedication to the hospital, its patients and the community, as well as including his leadership during at a time of unprecedented change in healthcare and increased financial pressures on all hospitals.

Shawn LaFrance, Vice President, Population Health at Cheshire Medical Center / Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene, was named recipient of the Innovator’s Awardfrom the Foundation for Healthy Communities, which celebrates extraordinary ingenuity, creativity and skill in improving health or healthcare access, delivery or quality. Recipients are honored for their leadership or for extraordinary individual achievement in advancing these goals. Joining the Foundation nearly 20 years ago and serving as its previous Executive Director since 2004, LaFrance was honored for his efforts to improve the health and health care of our communities, and for playing an integral role in creating what is known today as the Foundation for Healthy Communities.

Concord Hospital was named recipient of the Noah Lord for Patient & Family Engagement Award, which is recognizes the innovative work being done in to better engage patients and families with Patient Family Advisors and Patient Family Advisory Councils to improve patient safety, quality improvement and the patient experience in a hospital system. Concord Hospital was recognized for their project titled, Improving the Patient Experience in the Stroke Program, where patients, their families and staff provide delivery of care and in-hospital experiences on challenges or concerns within the patient care unit so that they can be immediately addressed, thereby improving the quality and safety of care delivered, as well as the patient experience.

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